The National Air and Space Museum commemorates the history of flight and educates and inspires people through its collections, exhibitions, research, and programs related to aviation, space flight, and planetary studies.

Telescope, OAO III, Princeton Experiment Package, Copernicus

This is the engineering prototype of the optical telescope and spectrograph, carried by the third Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO III) called "Copernicus." The telescope, known as the Princeton Experiment Package, consisted of an 82-cm (32-inch) parabolic mirror and a high-resolution spectrograph mounted at a modified Cassegrain focus. Launched on August 21, 1972, Copernicus was the second successful satellite in the OAO series. Over a 9-year period, Copernicus observed the ultraviolet spectra of stars, galaxies, a nova, and the interstellar medium. It provided new information about how stars form and age. Transferred from NASA in 1973.

This is the engineering prototype of the optical telescope and spectrograph, carried by the third Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO III) called "Copernicus." The telescope, known as the Princeton Experiment Package, consisted of an 82-cm (32-inch) parabolic mirror and a high-resolution spectrograph mounted at a modified Cassegrain focus. Launched on August 21, 1972, Copernicus was the second successful satellite in the OAO series. Over a 9-year period, Copernicus observed the ultraviolet spectra of stars, galaxies, a nova, and the interstellar medium. It provided new information about how stars form and age. Transferred from NASA in 1973.